Bucs run wild

But dip below the .500 mark

January 27, 2014

The Panthers' Carlie Wagner stole the show last Tuesday night as the Buccaneers fell on their home court, 66-39.

Wagner, a future Gophers guard, recorded a game-high 38 points (27 in the first half) for New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva.

BEA (6-7) had three players score in double figures, led by Kaitlyn Olsen, who scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds.

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NR-H-E-G (15-0) jumped out to a quick 6-0 advantage in the game's first two minutes.

Olsen stopped the run and put the Bucs on the board with an uncontested layup.

Karli Olsen, who contributed 11 points, followed with an open baseline jumper to narrow the early deficit.

Early turnovers and scrappy Panther defense (18 steals) kept the Bucs from getting any closer.

The visitors went on another quick 6-0 run, sparked by three consecutive Buccaneer turnovers, taking a 14-7 lead with 9:40 left in the first.

Olsen stopped the scoring drought for the Bucs with a three-pointer.

Following the three, Wagner scored 17 consecutive points for the Panthers, expanding their lead.

The defending Class AA champions finished the half on a 16-2 run and took a 40-18 lead into halftime.

Wagner started the second half where she left off in the first. She scored nine of the Panthers' first 11 points of the second half.

The lead grew to 51-24 with 11:45 remaining.

The maroon and gold ended the game on a high note; they outscored the Panthers 14-6 in the final six minutes.

"Overall, we played OK in this game," coach Al Cue says. "We hung with them for most of the first half, but then made careless mistakes and they took advantage. The girls were mostly patient with the ball and took good shots. They worked very hard the entire game."

BEA 39, New Ulm 31

The Buccaneers forced 24 turnovers and held the Eagles to only 23 percent shooting on a night where the score did not reflect how well the maroon and gold played defensively.

The Bucs were clinging to a late, four-point lead and any chance of an Eagles comeback fell short when BEA scored six consecutive points to close out the game.

The maroon and gold?escaped with a 39-31 victory in New Ulm for their sixth victory of the year.

Jenna Stevermer led the way for BEA with 10 points, five rebounds and three steals. Kaitlyn Olsen also pitched in eight points and nine rebounds.

"Offensively, we struggled in this game, especially in the second half," Cue says. "Fortunately, we were very good on defense. We held New Ulm to 10 points in the second half." BEA struggled early on to score, but eventually went on a 12-2 run taking a 22-12 lead.

But, the Eagles clawed their way back into the game by supplying a 9-2 run of their own before halftime, making the score 24-21 at the break.

Eagles guard Taylor Bolduan opened up the scoring for New Ulm with a three-pointer, cutting BEA's lead to two.

The Buccaneers wouldn't let the Eagles get any closer, though. They scored the game's final eight points.

The Bucs had eight different players register at least one steal. Their defense offset the maroon and gold's shooting woes and propelled the team to its second consecutive win.

The Buccaneers traveled to Fairmont for a game with the Cardinals last Friday. On Jan. 30, the Bucs will be in Waseca at 7:30 p.m. Those games were played after the Faribault County Register deadline. Game results will be included in the next Register.